northstar oil consumtion

[fullserviceman]

I now know via this forum that northstars use oil from the start. My question is does the cadillac dealer tell you this when you buy 1? How do you know? I just cant picture alot of the people who buy caddy's today checking or adding oil. My deville has gone at most 2 quarts low on oil without me knowing. This makes me hesitant to buy a used cadillac if maybe the first people to own it ran it with low oil more than a few times.. Whats the deal

[MWA]

My 98 Eldo used almost a quart/1000k when I purchased it used from a very reputable dealer and was told that this was not unacceptable. The service tech who changed the coolant and trans fluid and checked the alignment, belts, hoses, etc related to me the same thing that others say about the N*...run it like you just stole it. An older gent in his 80's owned it and never ran it. After each WOT the oil consumption subsided, yes it gradually is down to no noticable
consumption between changes now. It had 40k and now has 80k with no mechanical problems. Check other sources on this forum...run searches and read the threads and others including technical engineers here suggest the same thing. Run the hell out of it...after all the proper fluids and maintenance checks have been made. The older gentleman had seldom run it over 55mph. (the service tech at the dealership told me this behind the scenes) Enjoy the power of that N*!

[BeelzeBob]

All Northstar engines had/have the low oil level warning system to warn the owner if the oil level is low so there is little concern over a previous owner operating the engine too low on oil. Besides, with 7 quarts in the sump the engine can go a long long way before it gets low enough to really hurt anything.

Based on the total absence of any lower end or bearing problems reported on this forum (or others I frequent) with the Northstar engine I think it's track record in that respect is pretty good and is not something that I would worry about in the least.

[Ranger]

I check mine regularly and don't add til it just drops off the dipstick. that's about 2 qts. Like Bbob said, you still have 5 - 5 1/2 in the sump. No worries mate.

[fullserviceman]

Very good points,and I never thought of the 7 quart oil pan thing. I love my northstar and will buy another. I just know how people who own $50,000 vehicles usually don't know what maintenance is thats all..

[dhstron]

I have the same concerns about oil consumption. I have asked my dealer about it and they have advised me to bring the car in for an oil change and they will monitor the oil concumption every week to determin if the oil consumption is out of range. I am not sure what they will do if they find out I am using one quart every 400 miles.

[Ranger]

A qt. per 400 miles is excessive. They will likely change the pistons and rings after they try a carbon cleaning proccess. Have you tried the WOT treatments? Go to Technical Archives in the upper left corner of this page and read up on oil consumption.

[Firewireman]

First, what does WOT stand for?
Second, check your oil pan gaskets! Mine is starting to go bad and use an extra 2 quarts between changes. Not a huge deal, but enough to be annoying. It's never fun when an engine warning message comes up, no matter what it is.

[WoodShoe]

First, what does WOT stand for?

Wide Open Throttle. I like to call it the 'stand on it' method. Which my car sees more of than regular driving, and it still uses oil like the day I bought it. I don't understand how oil consumption can decrease that much for people on here, simply from driving it hard? I usually reset my trip meter and add 1L per 500Km ... seems to keep it happy. Although I have run it untill the check oil level light a few times...thats what its there for right

[Ranger]

Originally Posted by WoodShoe

I don't understand how oil consumption can decrease that much for people on here, simply from driving it hard?

It has to do with carbon build up on the upper compression ring preventing the ring from moving in the ring grove and sealing properly. bbob explaines this much more elequently than I if you can find the post.

[WoodShoe]

What I mean is, some peoples posts claim that their N* uses almost no oil between oil changes. After they started driving it hard...

After each WOT the oil consumption subsided, yes it gradually is down to no noticable consumption between changes now

No noticable consuption between oil changes? If i didnt add any oil 2 our caddys between oil changes they would dehydrate....

[LT5]

Originally Posted by WoodShoe

If i didnt add any oil 2 our caddys between oil changes they would dehydrate....

[Ranger]

Each engine is different. Some have a more aggressive hone pattern than others. Some burn more oil than others. Read the "Oil Consumption" in the Technical Archives at the top of the page. I think that may explain it.

[blb]

You'd think GM engineering would work on more closely on controlling the surface texture (ie: hone depth) of the cylinder walls and the other factors that lead to excessive oil consumption so there wasn't as great a disparity in oil consumption from engine to engine. After all, the Northstar has been in production since 1993!

Instead, the word from GM Engineering seems to be not to worry about it since the system holds 7 quarts and there's a light to warn you when its time to add more oil.

This would not be considered acceptable, and it is not the answer you would see in print, from the major foreign auto manufacturers that are known for their quality.

[dkozloski]

My '04 CTS with a 3.6L VVT V6 Northstar uses absolutely no oil. Cadillac has the problem well in hand. Oil consumption in North*'s is a thing of the past.